Cloud computing techniques can include use of networked computing resources of a cloud infrastructure to be made available for use by clients of a cloud services provider. Clients can access the networked computing resources via a network, such as the internet, to configure the networked computing resources to provide a service or to access a service provided by another client. Cloud service providers may receive monetary compensation from clients in exchange for access to or use of the networked computing resources. Cloud computing techniques can facilitate more efficient use of networked computing resources by, for example, enabling the resources to be allocated as needed between clients (e.g., for clients to scale services operating on cloud computing resources or to prototype new cloud enabled services) and/or by allocating hardware sequentially to service several clients.
Clients of cloud services may have diverse computing requirements resulting from different use cases. A cloud service provider can include various computer systems having different types of components with varying levels of performance and/or functionality. Thus, a client can select a computer system that is potentially more efficient at executing a particular task. For example, the cloud service provider can provide systems with varying combinations of processing performance, memory performance, storage capacity or performance, and networking capacity or performance. However, some clients may desire to use hardware that is proprietary or highly specialized for executing their computing tasks. Enabling use of client defined hardware (e.g., hardware over which a client has a relatively detailed level of control) within a cloud infrastructure can raise configuration management and/or performance concerns.